


Ease

by Aanok



Series: Cassandra Appreciation Week 2020 [1]
Category: Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure (Cartoon)
Genre: Cassandra Appreciation Week (Disney: Tangled)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-17
Updated: 2020-05-17
Packaged: 2021-03-02 18:28:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 782
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24241321
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aanok/pseuds/Aanok
Summary: Cassandra takes a break and enjoys the company of a dear friend.
Series: Cassandra Appreciation Week 2020 [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1751974
Comments: 2
Kudos: 25





	Ease

**Author's Note:**

> Written on the day 3 prompt for Cassandra Appreciation Week 2020: underrated.

A warm breeze blows pleasantly between the woods and the bright light of the sun from the immaculate sky above draws irregular, intricate shadows filtering through the canopy to the clean underbrush below. The scent of resin from the pines hits the nostrils with a soothing, refreshing aroma that mixes with the satisfying smell of mushrooms and humidity, courtesy of the previous days’ rain showers. The chiming of the leaves and the crisp chirping of birds all around are like a gentle massage that could ease tension out of the most haggard of people.

Cassandra, sitting on the layer of soft needles blanketing the ground, her back leaning against the wide trunk of an old tree, can definitely appreciate the relaxing scenery.

It's one of those welcome moments when the ghost girl leaves her alone, having to retreat to some place she doesn’t know for reasons that completely elude her and, frankly, she doesn’t really care about. She’s just thankful to be on her own for a while and, right now, she’s letting her mind go completely empty and then be filled only by the beautiful nature surrounding her. Worrying thoughts try and make themselves heard from a distance but she shuts them off wilfully, locked away with a skill she’s honed to perfection through the years.

It’s not like there isn’t anything to think about, of course. But wringing her heart over time and time again like an old cleaning rag is what she’s been doing for months now and she wants to catch her breath. To just let herself exist for a bit and not feel any of that hungry passion, resentment and fear that otherwise control her days.

She closes her eyes against the light, those distracting blue curls finally out of her vision, her head tipped slightly upwards and resting against the irregular bark of the pine behind her. She just breathes, in and out, and can all but physically feel her nerves unwind.

There’s a flutter just to her right, a rustle and a respectful hoot.

She turns, opening her eyes with a small smile and a hand already out to scratch the bird’s head.

“Hey Owl. Catch anything good?”

Hoot.

“Well done, buddy.”

It’s a curious thing how he has a tendency to be around only when the ghost girl isn’t. She’s sure he can’t really see the spirit but perhaps he can still sense its presence in some way. Animals seem to have a sixth sense like that sometimes. Or perhaps he can just notice how nervous, how riled up she always ends up being when she’s around that latest acquaintance of hers for any extended period of time.

They’ve always had a firm understanding of when they each need to let the other have their space. They’re both skittish creatures with a strong sense of self and privacy. They both need their own time to hunt or train or explore or just enjoy the company of themselves. Neither of them ever liked the castle in Corona, always full of guards, servants and nobles scurrying about this way and that. For the longest time when she was little she envied that he had the option to simply take off and fly away into the sky over forests and lands, often leaving for days on end on some adventure. It had done a lot to spur her into figuring out her home’s most hidden depths and secret passages, the guards’ patrols by day and night, the various ways over and below ground that she could use to escape that majestic cage.

“You wanna stay for a while?”

Hoot.

He patters closer and squeezes his eyes as she starts absentmindedly petting his feathers.

She’s wondered what he thinks of her actions… her betrayal. She suspects he doesn’t approve and, when her head is clear, she recognizes that as a valid opinion. She doesn’t regret what she’s done but she’s sure she could have handled it better. Yet that’s beside the point.

What she’s so very, so incredibly thankful for is that, unlike that memory wand disaster, this time he’s not making his judgment known, whatever it may be. He stays by her side, in that reserved way of his that she knows is his way of showing his support and comfort and which she appreciates from the bottom of her heart. He knows her, she knows him and that apparent distance between the two of them belies an understanding and solidarity so deep she never really shared with anybody else.

A more sprightly gust of wind flows through the canopy, making the branches and leaves rustle and sing.

“Hey, Owl?”

Hoot?

“I’m really glad you’re here.”

Hoot.

**Author's Note:**

> We really ought to give this bird more love.


End file.
